Steph on Skills powered by Enginuity

With Andy Burnham’s commitment to the devolution agenda, Steph is joined on this episode by Dr Jamie Mackay, recently appointed Head of Skills at the Hampshire and Solent Combined County Authority, to discuss what impact devolution could have on the skills sector.

Jamie explains the upcoming plans for devolved adult skills funding from next year, and its possible future influence over funding for 16–18-year-olds, as well as careers advice.

Steph and Jamie also talk through regional challenges, how to address accountability and transparency and what a system wide support model could like.

00:53 Meet Dr Jamie Mackay

02:30 What Are the Devolution Changes?

04:38 Accountability and Transparency

06:48 Working with Providers

08:14 Regional Challenges

11:02 Key Industries and Clusters

12:31 Skills Gaps and Priorities

14:48 System Wide Support Model

19:17 Face to Face Careers Help

22:07 Lifelong Learning And FE

32:08 Measuring Success and Pathways

35:11 Thanks and goodbye

Get in touch with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

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In this episode, Steph focuses on the town she grew up in – Middlesbrough - recently in the news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Steph talks about how her hometown shaped her and sets out what she believes are the deep issues taking hold in the communities and how change can be addressed.

Joining Steph is Liz Edwards from Rubies, a grassroots girls’ charity supporting self-esteem, resilience, confidence and safety.

Liz highlights the challenges she sees through her work and together Steph and Liz discuss solutions such as the need for role models, inclusive education and more positive narratives about the town.

00:00 Middlesbrough in Focus

01:06 Headlines and Hard Truths

02:33 Why Skills Were Left Behind

05:48 Meet Liz and Rubies

08:43 What Girls Need to Thrive

09:57 Fixing A Broken System

13:37 Devolution and Accountability

16:03 Technical Pathways and Industry Links

20:26 NEETs and A Lost Generation

23:35 Beyond Screens Building Confidence

26:55 Long Term Change and Hope

31:18 Final Thoughts

Get in touch with the podcast by emailing [email protected]

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Steph interviews Laura-Jane Rawlings, CEO and founder of Youth Employment UK, a not-for-profit started in 2012 amid one million young people not in education, employment, or training, a level once again hitting the headlines.

LJ explains how the organisation captures and amplifies the “youth voice,” through their annual Youth Voice Census, which surveys 11–30-year-olds with nearly 200 questions about all aspects of their life.

Steph and LJ discuss the key findings such as the impact that a lack of work experience is having, young people’s concerns over the cost-of-living and UK economy and shrinking entry-level jobs.

With the much-anticipated results of the Milburn Review set to be released in the coming weeks, Steph and LJ also look at some of the potential ways to address the NEET issue including the need for employers and communities to take action, social value procurement, and a youth guarantee.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

01:04 Why Youth Employment UK Exists

02:50 Youth Voice Census Explained

04:48 Key Findings - Young People Want to Work!

05:53 Barriers to Work Experience

07:15 Broken Social Contract and Mobility

10:00 System Failure and Milburn Review

12:35 Who Must Act Beyond Government?

15:33 Business Case for Hiring Youth

17:44 Local Solutions Devolution and SMEs

20:19 Social Value Procurement Ideas

24:36 Milburn Input and Youth Guarantee

27:30 Final Thoughts

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Recorded on location at WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai, Steph sits down with UK Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith, to celebrate the young people representing Team UK at the prestigious international event and talk about the Government’s plans to improve vocational opportunities for the next generation.

Topics discussed include the need to boost awareness of skills pathways, how Andy Burnham’s announcements for new technical route for 14-year-olds will be delivered within schools, and what steps can be taken in response to the Milburn Review on NEETs.

00:00 Welcome to WorldSkills

00:15 Inside the Shanghai Arena

02:22 Why Skills Matter

03:52 Making WorldSkills Known

06:17 New Technical Route at 14

07:47 Ofsted and Accountability

09:19 Funding and Employer Links

11:12 Devolution and Local Jobs

13:35 Milburn Review on NEETs

14:37 Joining Up Government Skills

17:09 What Success Looks Like

18:02 Apprenticeship Levy Reforms

19:23 Thanks and Goodbye

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Steph meets former apprentice, Adam Stockwell, Founder of iMaintain, an AI-driven reliability management platform for manufacturing – soon to be worth £100m.

Adam shares how his own experience on the shop floor fixing equipment in automotive manufacturing prompted the idea, when he realised that a knowledge sharing tool could help resolve issues much faster than waiting for access to an engineer.

Steph finds out how Adam approached designing the platform, what it was like pitching to venture capitalists and why he believes AI training is vital for the future of the manufacturing sector. 

00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction

01:04 What iMaintain Does

02:36 Real Shop Floor Problem

03:29 From Idea to Funding

05:17 Early Traction and Pilots

06:50 Advice for Would Be Founders

08:16 Why an Apprenticeship?

09:27 Challenges and Growth

11:48 AI Skills and Job Fears

15:08 Future Work and UK Scaling

19:20 Final thoughts

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Recorded live at Teagle Machinery in Truro, Cornwall, the first-ever Vocational Celebration Day shines a spotlight on vocational training across the UK.

Steph McGovern, a former apprentice herself, chats to apprentices from all around the UK to celebrate and promote the value of the ‘hard hat’ and all those taking forging their careers using a vocational pathway. Apprentices from sectors including engineering, HR, data science, transport planning, banking, sales and more share their journeys, challenges, and ambitions.

In the studio, Steph also chats to Niki Storey, Group Strategy & Transformation Director at Enginuity and Alexia Williams MBE, Technical Lead at Rolls-Royce and an Enginuity Trustee, about the importance of vocational skills and why Vocational Celebration Day was created. 

Steph also meets Carrie Childs from the Cornwall Careers Hub, who shares how their work is helping to reduce NEET rates across the local area.  

Hosted at Teagle Machinery Ltd, Steph meets some of the apprentices on-site who make up 20% of the company’s work force and chats to Richard Berryman, Manufacturing Director at Teagle, about ways they are encouraging the apprentices to take on new responsibilities, including taking over parts of the factory on Fridays. 

Messages of support also come from the Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, Enginuity’s CEO Ann Watson MBE, EAL’s Managing Director Alison Parkes, and Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England.

Plus, there’s a special performance from Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’ 

To watch the episode in full visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTauncd43LI

00:00 Welcome to Vocational Celebration Day

00:45 Inside Teagle Machinery

01:32 Meet the Apprentices

02:23 Message from Ann Watson MBE, CEO of Enginuity

04:55 Why Vocational Matters with Niki Storey and Alexia Williams MBE

11:19 Amazon Apprentice Olivia Lane

15:45 Audience Apprentices’ Stories

19:11 Factory Flashdance Moment with Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’

21:02 Apprentice Ambassador Network in London

26:33 Message from the Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith

29:27 Teagle Apprentices in Action

33:45 Cornwall Tackles NEETs

35:48 Careers Skills and Networks

38:56 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the West Midlands

43:23 EAL Backs Vocational Routes

45:42 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North East

51:45 Message from Phil Smith CBE, Skills England

53:46 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North West

59:50 Lloyds Banking Group Apprentices in Edinburgh

01:02:06 Closing Thanks and Celebration Song

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Steph interviews Dame Ruth Cairnie DBE, Chair of Babcock International Group, patron of the Women in Defence Charter, member of the CBI Board and venture capital investor with a distinguished international career in the engineering sector.

Dame Ruth talks about Babcock’s role as an international defence contractor and major UK employer, contributing an estimated £4.3bn to the UK economy, and shares her thoughts on skills, culture, and teamwork, outlining the wide range of workforce needs - Babcock will require around 8,000 more UK hires over the next five years - and how company is approaching its talent recruitment.

Steph and Dame Ruth also discuss shifting perceptions of defence needs and a change in the understanding of nuclear initiatives, the role of the UK Nuclear Skills Charter, the importance of diversity, retention and progression within the workforce and the community initiatives Babcock are championing to support their talent supply chain. 

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:27 What Babcock Does

01:45 Why Skills Matter

03:04 Roles and Career Paths

04:53 Early Careers Pipeline

07:02 Supporting SMEs Supply Chain

08:25 Nuclear Skills Push

09:55 Defence and Nuclear Perception Shift

11:59 Community Skills Partnerships

14:28 Making Careers Tangible

16:12 Skills Gap Challenges

16:43 New Routes into Trades

19:52 Pre Apprenticeships and NEETs

21:45 Immigration and Resourcing

23:04 Diversity and Inclusion

25:05 Ruth Career Journey

27:23 Facing Bias and Advice

29:03 Final Takeaways and Wrap Up

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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A recent report from SQW, a leading UK-based consultancy specialising in economic and social research, which was commissioned by Enginuity, estimates the skills gap is costing the sector about £5.2bn each year. 

Steph is joined by Cathryn Moses-Stone, Senior Policy and Public Affairs for Enginuity, and entrepreneur and former SME managing director James Greenham, to discuss this new research and dig into the realities that this economic impact is having on manufacturing and engineering SMEs.

00:00 Welcome and Guests

00:42 Why Measure the Skills Gaps?

02:35 The Reality of Hiring as an SME

04:58 The £5.2 Billion Black Hole

06:23 Productivity and Apprenticeships

07:45 SME Constraints

10:12 Navigating Skills Reform

12:48 Grants and R&D Tax Credits

14:07 Fixing Vocational Education

14:52 Networks and Final Takeaways

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Steph is joined by Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England, and Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, to discuss Skills England’s recently published Annual Skills Report which sets out the key challenges facing England’s skills system and actions for how they can be addressed.

They also chat about the industrial strategy’s growth sectors, potential opportunities over the next 5–10 years, pathways for moving between sectors and how to tackle the NEET challenge of about a million young people who are not in education, earning or training. 

00:00 Welcome

00:17 What is Skills England?

03:58 How Job Titles create Gender Bias

06:12 Work Experience Changes Minds

08:05 Manufacturing Hidden in Plain Sight

09:17 Skills England Annual Report Insights

12:07 Essential Skills in the AI Era

14:24 Creativity and Hands On Learning

15:48 Skills Classification and Passports

16:34 The NEETs Challenge

16:58 Recognising Hidden Strengths

20:09 AI Confidence Story

23:38 SME Skills Struggles

27:55 Skills England Wishlist

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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Steph chats with Kathryn Marshall, Senior Apprenticeship and T Level Manager at Lloyds Banking Group, to challenge the misconception that apprenticeships are mainly for engineering and manufacturing. 

With Lloyds Banking Group employing over 1,300 apprentices across more than 30 disciplines, Kathryn explains the breadth of roles on offer such as audit, digital, data, software engineering and cybersecurity.

Kathryn dispels the myth that you need maths qualifications to work in banking, revealing the only role where A-level Maths is a requirement, and sharing which skills matter more than subjects studied.

Steph and Kathryn also discuss the way AI is impacting jobs, as Kathryn outlines how Lloyds’ AI Academy is helping its 60,000 colleagues and the ways their youth outreach is aligning with their purpose of ‘helping Britain prosper’.  

00:00 Apprenticeships Beyond Engineering

01:24 Routes into Banking Careers

02:29 Actuarial and Audit Explained

06:28 School Outreach and Awareness

07:20 Digital and Tech Apprenticeships

10:00 Who Thrives as an Apprentice

11:01 Networking and Squiggly Careers

14:01 Standing Out in Applications

20:13 Family Journeys and No False Starts

23:31 AI Academy and Future Skills

25:31 Purpose and Community Outreach

27:13 Key Takeaways and Goodbye

Get in touch with us at [email protected]

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